Screed systems are known in the art. For example, in a traditional method of plastering a wall product, ceiling, or floor, without the placing of tiles on the wall product thereafter, wooden float strips are used to guide a straight edge across an area forming the wall product being plastered, while raking off excess mud, etc. left in the application of the mud. The float strips, or “screeds” are tapped into the prepared or wet mud, such as mortar, cement, or other suitable materials, with a separate level held against one or more of them to obtain a horizontal, vertical, or other orientation or plum. The float strips, straight edge, and the board carrying the mud itself, are usually wet before use so that they will not draw moisture out of the prepared mud. It is plumbed as much as possible, for the purpose of keeping the finished wall product or ceiling surfaces as straight as possible, however, a true planar wall surface is not generated with the traditional tools, and much is left up to the individual craftsman or novice.
As will be appreciated, the difficulties with prior art screed systems are particularly acute with respect to preparing walls, such as foundation walls for buildings. In many prior art techniques, a craftsman looking to plaster a wall would have to prepare initial mud columns by hand on the wall. These columns would be erected for accepting a screed which would be used to allow the wall to be filled and cut to a uniform depth. However, mud columns crafted by hand were never truly uniform and difficult and time consuming to construct. Other artisans have tried to overcome these difficulties by fabricating pre-formed screeds for attachment to building materials, thereby by-passing the need for hand made screed columns. However, these prior art methods still suffered from the drawbacks that they were labor intensive and had to be preformed on site. For example, the screeds could not be put into place until the building materials were in place and ready for finishing.
The foregoing underscores some of the problems associated with conventional building and finishing techniques and devices. Furthermore, the foregoing highlights the long-felt, yet unresolved need in the art for a screed system which allows for building materials, such as walls or wall panels or roof or floor panels, to be prefabricated and prepared for immediate finishing.